


Who the Hell do You Think I Am?

by AshREvans



Series: Complications [2]
Category: Homestuck
Genre: F/M, Gurren Lagann - Freeform, Reader-Insert
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-29
Updated: 2016-02-29
Packaged: 2018-05-23 23:24:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 12,982
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6133699
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AshREvans/pseuds/AshREvans
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dirk is a famous singer/songwriter, but he didn't start out that way. He goes back to his home town after almost ten years of absence only to run into the one person who knew him in the beginning that he lost contact with. He tries to rekindle what they used to have only to be stopped every step by her.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

"Dirk! Wait up!" 

"My name's not Dirk! It's Bro!" 

The blonde boy turned to look at the (h/c) girl who was trying her best to climb up the same rock he did. By adult standards, they would probably just be able to step up on it; at least, that’s what Dirk thought. But he and his friend were only eight and the rock was big enough to be a mountain to them. 

Seeing his friend struggle, he bent down and reached out his hand to help her up. She took his hand and braced herself as he pulled. When she was up on the rock, he wrapped his arm around her waist lightly until she was balanced on top of it, which for Dirks friend, was something he wasn’t even sure she was able to accomplish. 

"Come on, Yoko. You should have been able to do that."

The (h/c) girl pouted. "Dirk, stop it. It's not fun anymore. I'm not Yoko. I'm _____."

"I know that." He said and then sat down on the rock cross legged, crossing his arms as well with a scowl on his face. 

_____ thought he was seriously taking this Kamina business to seriously. He was even wearing the red tinted shades and wore them everywhere, refused to take them off when they were in public. Truth be told, she hated Gurren Lagann. Hated it with a passion, but not because the show was bad. In fact, she though the show was good. She hated it because it started to take her best friend away from her. All Dirk ever wanted to do now was play Gurren Lagann with her. He hasn't even called her by her real name since he started watching it. It was always "Yoko this" and "Yoko that."

"Dirk, I'm sorry."

He didn’t answer.

"Bro."

The blonde boy looked up at her and _____ sighed. "Bro, can we go home and eat? I'm hungry. Mommy's probably got lunch ready by now."

Dirk let out a sigh and stood, hopping off the rock. "Fine. But just for now. Then we come back outside, ok?"

"Fine." _____ said, though she didn't jump down from the rock. 

Instead she just looked down at the ground and felt the whole world spinning. Dirk didn't know this but _____ was afraid of heights, even small ones like a three foot rock, though to her, it felt more like ten. 

"Come on, Yoko. Jump." Dirk said. 

_____ took a step away from the edge and shook her head. Why was it so bad this time? Usually if she closed her eyes, she would be able to do it. Something was wrong. Was it because she already looked down?

"I-I can't, Dirk." She said, looking near tears.

Dirk lowered the glasses from his eyes to look at his best friend without the red tint around her. Seeing her look like this made him frown. 

"Jump. I'll catch you."

"Promise?"

Dirk nodded, pushing his shades up. "Of course I do! Just who the hell do you think I am?" He said before holding his arms out. "I'll always be here to catch you!"

_____ frowned at his use of that line but sighed. Even if Dirk would call her Yoko till the day she died, she never wanted to leave his side. Dirk was her first and best friend and she always wanted it to stay like that. 

"Fine." She said.

Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and hopped down from the rock. Almost immediately following her feet touching the ground, she felt a pair of arms wrap around her to try to steady her. However, instead the two kids both went tumbling down. Dirk landed on his back and the shades falling form his face and _____ landing with her face in his chest. _____ could hear the wind being knocked out of Dirk and she quickly attempted to stand up, only to feel his arms tighten around her. 

"No. I got it." Dirk said breathlessly and sat up, sitting _____ up with him. "The guy always helps the girl up."

_____ rolled her eyes. "Shut up. I'm not a girl."

Dirk pinched her cheek and pulled lightly. "Fine. Tomboy." He snickered a bit and ____ started laughing a bit, pulling his hand off her cheek.

"Come on. Mommy's going to get worried."

He nodded and stood up, holding his hand out for _____ to take, which she did. Seeing Dirk's shades off to the side, _____ walked over and picked them up, brushing the dirt off them. She walked back to Dirk.

"Close your eyes."

"Why?"

"I don't want to poke you."

Rolling his eyes one last time, Dirk did as he was told and _____ replaced the glasses on his eyes, though she put them on upside down. On purpose, mind you. Giggling a bit, _____ ran off. When Dirk opened his eyes and realized what she did, he growled, though playfully, and chased after her, flipping the glasses right side up. 

* * *

_____ walked up the stairs to the apartment Dirk shared with his bro, D. With the present in her hands, she tried to take a deep breath. Even though it's been six years since the stupid TV show came out, Dirk was still as obsessed with it as he was when he first started watching it. He still insisted on calling her Yoko and by this point, she honestly thought that he thought that was her name. She's even started responding to it! How messed up is that? Even so, she persisted with her friendship with him, even if she had been pushed to the back burner as he met new friends, Jake, Roxy, and Jane. 

Reaching the door of the apartment, she knocked on it. She waited several seconds before the door opened to reveal D. He looked down at her with his aviators.

"Bout time. Dirk's been waiting. Been a little impatient about it, too."

"S-sorry. It's a long walk up here."

D chuckled and put a hand on her head. "I know what you mean. Come in. He's in his room."

_____ nodded and then walked inside with her present. Without needing to be directed, _____ walked into Dirks room, knocking lightly before opening the door. Poking her head in, she saw Dirk standing in front of the mirror messing around with his hair. He didn’t even have his shades on yet. He must be determined to do his hair on his own. She sighed and walked over to him, putting the present down on the bed. 

"Let me." She said. 

Dirk blushed lightly. "I had it perfectly handled on my own, Yoko."

_____ frowned slightly. "Didn't look like it to me, Bro."

Dirk rolled his eyes and averted them as _____ set to work on doing his hair. She knew that he wanted to style it like Kamina, but she would have none of that. She turned him away from the mirror and started to spike his hair up all over, and then letting his bangs fall over his forehead. 

"Close your eyes." She said.

"Why?"

"I don't want to poke you."

Dirk sighed before closing them. _____ walked over to his bed and quietly unwrapped her present to him before walking back and placing the glasses on over his eyes. 

"Ok. Open them."

Dirk did as he was told and blinked. Shouldn't everything look red? Why was it darker? Turning he looked at the mirror and saw that he didn’t look at all like he wanted to. Instead he looked… better.

Instead of his Kamina shades, he was wearing shades that were exactly like them, only black. And his hair. It was… he chewed his lip. He didn't want to outright tell her that he liked it. That wasn't what Striders do. As he was looking at himself in the mirror, _____ walked up next to him and smiled slightly, for the first time that day, Dirk finally noticed that she was actually wearing the skull hair pin that Yoko wore in Gurren Lagann pinning the left side of her hair back behind her ear. The hairpin that he made for her for her own birthday.

"Happy Birthday." She said. 

Dirk turned his head and smiled slightly at her. "Thank you, _____."

_____ blinked a bit at him using her real name for the first time in six years. "Dirk…" 

Before she could say anything else, she wrapped her arms around him in a hug, burrowing her head in his shoulder. She felt his arms wrap around her and his chin rest on the top of her head. 

* * *

"Are you fucking kidding me, Strider?"

"I'm 100% serious. I got a record deal and I'm going out to LA tomorrow."

"What about college? You promised that we would go to the same school before you thought about accepting record deals."

"Things change, Yoko."

_____ was silent. It's been four years since Dirk's fourteenth birthday and since she gave him the shades and the new hairstyle that he always wore. They were 18 and graduation was right around the corner, literally. It was June and they had just finished practicing for getting their diplomas. Dirk has pulled her over to the bleachers so he could talk to her. _____ hoped that he would finally ask her out, unfortunately, she had bitten off more than she could chew with Dirk Strider.

"Apparently not, Bro." She said, pouring as much venom into that one name as she was humanly able to. "You are such a liar, Dirk. Ugh. You know what. Fuck you. I don't care anymore. I'm tired of trying to be your friend. Have a nice life."

She turned on her heel and started to walk off. Unfortunately before she was able to get far, she ran face first into Dirk's chest. Fucking flashstep. He put his arms on her shoulders, holding her in place.

"Where is this coming from all of a sudden?" He asked, genuinely confused. 

_____ blinked and stared up at him. "Are you being serious right now?"

Dirk simply nodded, his lips pulled down in a frown.

"You break promises. You're a liar and you’ve only once called me by my real name since we were eight! It is not all of a sudden!"

"Break promises? Real name?"

"First when we were eight. You promised to always be there to catch me. Then again, a promise you made to me when we entered high school that we would go to college together and get an education before you went off and left me behind!" She said, practically shouted at him. "And yes, real name. You've only called me Yoko like you're trying to fulfill some fantasy!"

"You… remember when we were eight?"

"Of course I do." _____ said, getting very quiet. 

"We're best friends. Why do you care if I break two little promises? It's not like I'm going to forget about you when I'm all big and famous. So what if I've been calling you Yoko. We both like Gurren Lagann so what's the problem? And it's not like I don't remember your real name. You've been my friend since we were five. Instead of worrying about yourself, you should be supporting me in my decisions. You're being selfish."

"Selfish? I'm being selfish, huh?" _____ said in a small voice. "I'm not the selfish one here Dirk. Ever since we were eight, I've only ever done what you wanted to do. I've only ever watched what you wanted to watch. I've never done anything but support you! I don't even know who I am at eighteen years old and I'm the selfish one? You are such an asshole, Dirk. I can't believe I was ever friends with you. Hell, I can't believe I ever liked you!" Shaking his arms off her shoulders, _____ glared hard at him. "And Dirk, if you remember my name, then what is it?"

Dirk was silent, looking to the side, looking very uncomfortable. He dug himself in far too deep.

"Have a nice life, Dirk. Call me when you remember my fucking name."

With that, not wanting to hear him try to defend himself, she took off running, tears falling from her eyes as she ran. On her way out of the school, she was stopped by the friends Dirk made when the two entered high school.

"Hey, Yoko what's the matter? Are you ok?" Jake asked.

"Oh, honey, you're crying, what happened?" Jane asked before shooting a glare at Jake that said of course she's not ok!

"Yoko, you can talk to us." Roxy said.

That was it. Even his friends didn't know her name. "Ask Dirk. He should know everything." She said in a deadly quiet voice.

Every single one of them backed up. Each opened their mouth to say something but _____ wasn't going to hear any of it. She bolted again, running out of the school. She didn't stop running until she was at the park. The park that she and Dirk used to come and play at all the time when they were little. Walking around, she finally collapsed by the rock where Dirk promised to always be there to catch her. Curling up on the woodchips in the shade of it, she cried. She cried until she couldn't cry any more. By the time she stopped, it was night time and her mother was calling her repeatedly, leaving voicemails telling her to come home for dinner. 

Standing up, her eyes red and puffy, _____ brushed the wood shavings from her clothes and walked home, simply an empty shell of the girl she thought she was. 

Dirk never came to find her.


	2. Chapter 2

Dirk growled as he drove around his old hometown for the first time in ten years. Ever since…

He shook his head. He didn't need any of this right now. He was already having nightmares about it, as if she was haunting him again after ten years of radio silence.

It started right after his best friend, Jake English, moved away to run from his ex-girlfriend, who also moved away as well, right after Jake refused to talk to her. He supposed that was his fault and the guilt of that reawakened his old guilt over Yoko. Shortly after Jake left, Roxy Lalonde moved east, too. Something about needing to make sure her home girl was all right.

Then one night about a week ago, Jake texted Dirk and told him about a relatively big convention going on down in Houston ten days from when he called. Figuring since he didn’t have any concerts or tours or recordings coming up, he might as well check it out, not to mention cosplay for the first time in ten years.

He didn't realize she was still living in Houston and there was a pretty good chance that he would run into her.

 _Houston is a big city_ , Dirk told himself. _You might not even have to face her._

_But I want to talk to her._

_No you don't._

_I need to set things right._

_No, you don't._

Shaking his thoughts from his head, he pulled over in front of a bar. He needed to forget about this, forget about her, even if just for a little while.

Adjusting his hat on his head and the shades on his eyes in hopes that no one would recognize Dirk Strider Rap God Extraordinaire, he walked inside. Sitting down on a stool, he asked for some hard liquor. He knocked it back and just before he could ask for another one, he heard a voice.

"Scotch on the rocks." It said from just two seats away.

Dirk looked up from the counter. _That voice..._ could the universe really be that cruel?

Ten years and she was still wearing the hairpin. Her hair was still (h/c) and styled (h/s) though the pin still held the left side of her hair up. He noticed that she filled out even more since senior year too, much more defined curves, bigger breasts. And that ass! If she was a stranger, he would totally tap that.

"You know, I never thought I'd see you here ever again."

Dirk blinked and realized he was staring. "Huh? What are you-"

"Cut it, Dirk. I know it's you and I know you recognize me."

Subconsciously, Dirk pulled the hat down a bit to cover more of his face.  "How'd you know?"

She pointed to her eyes, still not looking at him. "You kept them."

Once again, Dirk subconsciously pushed his shades up on the bridge of his nose. "Course I did. You gave them to me."

"That's sweet of you. I didn't know I still weigh so heavily on your mind." She said and Dirk could hear the sarcasm oozing from her words.

"Look, Yoko, let me expla—"

"Shut the fuck up, Strider." She hissed before standing. "You’ve just lost your chance to explain anything."

Dirk flinched at her words. He watched as she slapped down a couple of bills on the counter.

"Please wait. Don't go. Let me buy you a drink and we can talk." He pleaded.

"If you wanted to talk, you should have found me ten years ago. I'm over you. You're not worth a second glance anymore." She said and finally looked at him.

Dirk was shocked with what he saw. She wasn't smiling, her eyes weren't twinkling with happiness any more. She looked so… empty, as if her soul and her personality just flew from her ten years ago and she was running on instinct. Almost as if she was one or his robots. Cold and emotionless. He sat there frozen as she reached out and grabbed the visor of his hat, pulling off, before she let it fall to the ground. Dirk was still too shocked to grab her wrist and stop her from running away again.

When she walked away, Dirk reached down and picked up the hat. He was about to put it back on and flashstep in front of her, but he heard her speak.

"Oh my god, guys! It's Dirk Strider!!" She said in her best high school cheerleader voice.

Dirk hissed to himself when everyone in the bar started swarming him, asking for his autograph. This time he had no choice but to let her go.

*     *     *

"Damn it Jake. I told you she hated me. Did you really just send me out here to test a theory that I already knew was true?"

"One, I wasn’t sure if it was true, and two, I know why she hates you now." Jake replied with a sigh.

"Why?"

"Gurren Lagann." Jake said. "She told us after graduation after Roxy, Jane and I apologized up and down for not knowing her real name after sharing four years of high school."

"What about Gurren Lagann?" Dirk said.

On the other line Jake sighed. "She told us that ever since that show came out; you stopped being her friend and started being Kamina." He explained. "You stopped doing anything she wanted to do and stopped calling her by her name. She still thinks that you don't even know it. Not to mention you didn't chase after her when she ran off and weren't even there to see her get her diploma. Didn’t even send a congratulations text. She really loved you, Dirk. Enough to give up herself, literally. All throughout college she struggled with an identity crisis and honestly, I'm not sure if she's completely over it. I can kind of understand why she would hate you."

"Then why did you send me here!?"

"Because one of us deserves to be happy." Jake deadpanned.

"That was meant for you. What I did to Yoko is unforgiveable."

"_____."

"What?"

"Her name. It's _____."

Dirk fell silent after that, frowning and looking down at his shoes.

"You know, you could have just looked at a yearbook, looked for her picture and found her name." Jake said through Dirk's silence.

"Jake, shut up." Dirk said in a very calm voice. "What's the point of you sending me here so I can get yelled at by my ex-best friend and my best friend?"

"Sorry, Dirk. I guess I'm still not over my last failure and I'm taking it out on you. I'm sorry."

Dirk sighed. "It's fine." he said. "I'm just gonna go and stay with D and enjoy the convention. Gonna finally show off the tats the way they were meant to be seen."

"Yeah. All right. Call if anything happens or if you need to be reminded of how much of a dick you are." Jake said. "Don't forget to try talking to her again. Just explain yourself. Maybe throw in an _I love you_ or something."

"Sure thing, English. Whatever you say." Dirk said, rolling his eyes. "I'll visit soon. Probably after this convention."

"All right. Bye Strider."

"Later."

The line went dead. At least one of his questions was answered, but that only led to more questions. Why was she still wearing the Yoko pin ten years after they practically broke up? If she hated the show when they were friends, why did she even wear it then? How deep does her hatred run for him now? Will he even be able to fix her or was he just groping at straws? He wanted nothing more than to fix things with her, become friends again, because that's all he was hoping for at this point, but would he even be able to?

He let out a sigh and kicked off the hood of his car and got in, starting it up and driving to D's place to crash since it was only a block and a half away from the convention center. He needed to rest up and get ready for the convention tomorrow night so he would be ready to go Friday morning.


	3. Chapter 3

"I think you're completely stupid for going to this convention." D said as he watched Dirk stand over the sink, the water running.

"Why?"

"______'s going to be there." He replied. "She's bound to recognize you and if you go as that do you really think you'll get the chance to apologize?"

"I can throw my voice to sound more like his, you know." Dirk said. "And I'm counting on her being there. I doubt I'd be able to see her, so if I run into her, then I can talk to her like we used to."

"Dirk, you never did talk to her." D said. "You did the talking and she listened. Honestly, I think she's lucky for getting away from you when she did. If you had asked her to come with you like you intended that day, you'd still be in the same predicament because she would have left you years ago. Better to have gotten out then rather than later."

"Since when did you start taking a girls side over your own flesh and blood?"

"Since you stopped knowing her name."

"Oh come on, I know it."

"Who told you then, Jake? He always was too good a guy to you."

Dirk fell silent as he finished with his hair, putting his head under the water and rinsing it out.

"Look, Dirk. Do what you want, but if you want my opinion, I think you shouldn't get _____. You destroyed her so completely and shes still too good for you." D said before kicking off the wall and leaving the bathroom.

Dirk frowned and stood up, towel drying his hair. When he stood up he looked at himself in the mirror. No more blonde hair, at least for the next three days. He tugged on some of his bangs and sighed.

"You don't think I don’t know that, bro?" He said and sighed. _But I'm going to kick logic out and make the impossible possible._

Shaking out his hair and draping the now blue towel over his shoulders, he left the bathroom. He saw D sitting in the living room typing away furiously on his computer, probably writing up another shitty SBaHJ script. Making a beeline for his room, Dirk closed the door and looked around.

It was exactly the way he left it and Dirk wondered why D hasn't converted it into something else. Walking to his bed, he kicked over old robot parts and pony plushies. He made it to his closet and pulled out his most prized possession that he regretted leaving in the care of his brother. Reaching in, he grabbed the handle of his katana and pulled it out of the closet. He held it in his hands and pulled it out of the sheath, the gleam of the blunted metal reflecting his eyes back at him.

He would have to sharpen this after the convention so he could practice with it again. He remembered when he was thirteen and _____ had convinced her mom to get this for him for his birthday. All of his cool stuff came from her, all the things that he prized most. He sighed and sheathed his sword again. If anything, maybe he could pick up a girl and forget about _____ for three days before trying to talk to her again.

D always did say that Dirk's moral compass was a little eschew. No one ever claimed he was a saint, at least.

Walking back to his bed, he picked up a robotic arm, a long abandoned project, and grabbed some tools from the drawer in the nightstand and started tinkering. At least when he was working with something cool and calculated like this, he was able to be just as cool and calculated, clear his mind, and forget the world for a spell.

*     *     *

Dirk woke up the next morning with the pieces of the robot arm he was messing with over his body. Groaning, he stood up, tossing the arm to the side and walked to his closet. Today was the day. Convention day.

Grabbing the costume, Dirk dressed up in it before grabbing his old red Kamina shades. Quickly dressing in the cosplay, he got to work on his hair, styling it just right before slipping his katana through his belt, then he put in some red contacts. Didn't want anyone recognizing his orange soda eyes when he took the glasses off. When he was finished, he looked at himself in the mirror and nodded in approval, walking out of the room. D was already awake and was in the kitchen, probably toasting waffles for breakfast. Dirk headed into the kitchen and lo and behold, his prediction was correct.

"You know, I'm visiting after how long and you don't even cook breakfast?" Dirk said.

"Shut up, Dirk. We went out to eat last night." D replied and passed over a plate of waffles. "Eat now. Then leave."

"Ouch. Harsh."

"Tough love, brother. You need to get it from somewhere."

"I'm already getting more then I need." Dirk said and rolled his eyes before biting into the Eggo waffles.

"Obviously not if you still insist on trying to get _____ to forgive you for twenty years of not being there for her."

"You're really not going to let that go, are you?"

"Course not." D replied. "Because if she does forgive you, then I sure as hell will make you feel guilty about what you've done."

"Can you cut me some slack? I'm trying to atone for it the best way I know how."

"The best way you know how might not be the right way." D said before he flicked the corner of Dirk's Kamina glasses. "Because you still insist on obsessing over the show that lost her in the first place. But hey, whatever you think is best Dirk. I'll see you when you get home." D took his plate of waffles and left the kitchen.

Dirk sighed and shook his head. D was not the one who would decide the outcome of this. It was him and _____ that would make or break this. He quickly finished his waffles before he walked out of the apartment and flashstepped all the way downstairs.

At least for this weekend, he was just going to have fun, maybe meet a Yoko would be able to make him forget his plight.

*     *     *

Dirk was stopped for the nth time that day, walking through the Dealers Room, as someone wanted to take a picture of his "kickass Kamina" cosplay. Since he just couldn’t say no, he took the stance Kamina was known for best, his finger pointed up to the sky and looking up with a huge grin on his face.

Honestly, his hand was starting to hurt from how he was posed. He was stopped a few times as he stood in line to buy his pass, which now hung from the belt. He was stopped twice as he was walking to the Dealers Room and about five times as he was walking around. Worst part of it was, he just didn’t know how to say no to such young cosplayers, not to mention that once he was posed, more and more people would come by, snapping more pictures.

However, this time was different. After the first group of cosplayers finished with they're pictures, a pair of cosplayers came up to him just as he was shaking out his hand. When he heard the small excuse me, he looked up and saw probably the best Yoko cosplayer he's seen. She had just the right body for it, curvy and luscious. She had a replica of her gun hanging from her arm and the hair was immaculate. Hell, it looked real.

The person who spoke was someone who was wearing a Gurren Lagann t-shirt and a pair of plain jeans. He had a camera in his hands and he looked at Dirk.

"D-do you mind if you take a picture with this Yoko for me?" he asked.

Dirk looked at Yoko and raised an eyebrow, as if asking if she was ok with it. She simply shrugged and walked up to him. Dirk looked at the boy.

"Do you ship them?"

"1000% yes." He said.

Dirk smirked and then looked at the Yoko cosplayer. "Mind if we give him what he wants?"

The Yoko cosplayer shrugged. "Sure. I came here hoping I would meet at least one hot Kamina cosplayer. I figure you meet those standards." She said and smirked, Dirk could hear the teasing in her voice. Tugging at the back of his mind, though, he thought there was something familiar about this cosplayer…

Dirk chuckled and then put a hand on the small of her back. "Perfect. Brace yourself. I've been told I'm an excellent kisser."

"Consider myself braced."

Dirk snickered and pulled her closer, making a show of this as he heard the camera started clicking. He put his hand on Yoko's chin and turned her head up. He heard more camera flashes. By the time his lips connected with hers, he could practically see the flashes from all of the cameras, but he wasn’t focusing on that.

There was something about this Yoko. When his lips touched hers, he pulled her in closer to his body, he could feel electricity surge through his body from where his bare skin touched hers. From where they're lips touched, he could feel fire course through his blood around his body. This was so much different than when he kissed all the other girls he slept with. All he wanted to do was to push his tongue in her mouth and make out with her until neither of them knew what time it was, but he knew he shouldn't do that at a convention. He would just have to wait until later, and there would definitely be a later.

Deciding that the short time they were kissing was enough, Dirk pulled back softly and smirked down at her. Yoko was looking at him with a relatively shocked expression, though he wasn’t sure if that was for the camera of if that was real.

Dirk chuckled and winked at her before stepping back and taking a bow. Yoko did as well and smiled at the other people taking pictures and waving as they walked off. When they were all gone, Yoko turned to Dirk.

"So what's your name, cosplayer?" She asked.

"I think it would be better if that stayed a mystery for now." He said and winked again, "though maybe I'll give you my number when the weekend if over if you hang out with me until then."

"Hmmm… I think I could take you up on that offer." Yoko replied with a smirk.

"So, then what's your name? Or should I just call you Yoko until Sunday?"

"I think I can live with Yoko for three more days." She replied and snickered.

"Well then Yoko, we have a whole con to enjoy for three days." He said. "What do you want to do first?"

"Well… there is this one panel that I've been meaning to go to in a little bit."

Dirk chuckled and then bowed, holding his hand out towards the exit. "Then lead the way, surface girl."


	4. Chapter 4

That Friday had to have been the best Friday at a con he's ever had, save for when he went to a few with _____ back in high school. This Yoko was great. She was sweet, funny, and honestly seemed like she could kick any ones ass who messed with her. Dirk seriously thought he was in love.

At one point, Dirk actually asked where she got the Yoko wig and she said that she had actually gotten hair extensions just for the convention. Dirk questioned where she had gotten the money for it and she said that she was a novelist. When he asked some things she wrote, she refused to tell him, saying it wasn’t her real name anyway, but simply a pen name.

Friday when he got home that night, he was in such a daze he didn't hear D call his name and ask what happened. He just walked into his room and plopped on his bed to sleep until the next day when he would meet up with Yoko again. She intended to go to the rave/dance party Saturday night, but Dirk had other plans and he intended to set them in motion.

*     *     *

The next day was just as good as the first. Dirk and Yoko walked around and did some shopping because by Sunday, all the good stuff would be gone, and they didn’t want to miss their chance. At lunch time, Dirk took her out to an IHOP down the street rather than wasting tons of money on convention food.

As they ate, they laughed and poked fun at each other and Dirk felt so comfortable with her. He's never felt this comfortable with anyone since before he left high school. At around 9, Yoko took Dirk to her hotel room so she could start getting ready for the rave. She said she had a special outfit for Yoko to wear to a party of that caliber.

Dirk chuckled and followed her, but he didn’t intend on seeing it. Hell, he didn't even intend to go to the rave at all.

"So are you sharing the room with friends?" Dirk asked.

Yoko shook her head. "No. I came alone. I don't have friends that live around here. After high school, they all moved away and I wasn’t really able to make any in college."

Dirk frowned. He's heard that story somewhere before. "That must have sucked." He said.

Yoko shrugged. "I was fine with it. I preferred to be alone after high school anyway." Digging into her back pocket, she pulled out a card key and slid it into the reader before opening the door.

Holding it open, Dirk walked in and looked at her through the shades. "Well, I'm sorry I didn't get the chance to meet you in college. I'm sure we could have been great friends."

Yoko chuckled. "You know, I'm not sure if I would have wanted that. You seem so much like…" She cut off, closing the door behind her and sliding the key in her pocket.

"Like who?" Dirk asked and walked up to her, putting his hands on her hips.

"No one. Just someone I used to know." Yoko said. "Used to be my best friend before I realized how much of an ass he really was."

"Well, then, let me apologize for him and make it up to you." Dirk said and smirked. "What do you say?"

Yoko looked up at him and raised her eyebrow. "I don't think you need to do any of that."

"Oh but I do." Dirk said and leaned in. "And I want to. A beautiful girl like you shouldn't have been hurt by any one."

Yoko turned her head up slightly, reaching up and taking the red glasses off his eyes. "Shit happens."

"Just like now." He smirked down at her and pressed his lips against hers, pushing her back against the door.

Yoko slid her arms around his neck, pulling her body against his, accepting his advances whole heartedly. Dirk slid his hands under her ass and lifted her up, feeling her wrap her booted legs around his waist. He carried her to the bed, laying her down on it and crawling over her. Yoko slid her hands to his cape and Dirk broke the kiss for a moment so she could lift it over his head.

For the first time, Dirk looked at the skull pin in her hair under close examination. At first he thought it was store bought, but looking at it now, it looked handmade. He reached up to touch it, to take it off so it wouldn't hurt her if they fell asleep like this. He noticed it was metal. Something nagged at the back of his mind, saying he should know this particular pin, but he brushed it off, setting the pin down on the night stand. He looked down at Yoko.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" He murmured, leaning in. "Because once I start, I don't think I'll be able to stop."

Yoko looked up at him and nodded, sliding her hands to Dirk's muscled shoulders, tracing the tattoos, "I'm sure."

Dirk smirked. "Good." He said and kissed her once again.

*     *     *

Dirk woke up the next morning after probably the best night's sleep of his life. In his side the Yoko was curled up with her head on his chest, the blanket covering only from her waist down. Her arm was covering the side of her breasts and was half closed over his heart. He smiled a bit and looked up at the ceiling for a long while before he figured that they should get up and eat something before the last day of the con and exchanging numbers.

Sitting up slightly, he leaned down and kissed Yoko's forehead. She stirred and blinked a few times before looking up at him. She smiled tiredly.

"Morning."

"Mornin'." Dirk said and brushed some hair behind her ear.

Yoko smiled and traced the tattoos over his shoulder. "These are some resilient temporary tats." She mused.

Dirk laughed a bit. "They ain't temporary, hun." He said, unable to stop his southern drawl in the morning. "Got 'em when I was 22."

Yoko rolled her eyes a bit and sat up, stretching. "Now you really sound like that old friend." She said and laughed.

"What was his name?" He asked and leaned back on the pillows and ran his hands through his hair.

"Nothing important. He went on and became all famous and shit. Even though I hate him now, I can't help but be a little happy for him." She shrugged and stood.

"Come on, tell me?" Dirk asked.

"Sorry, but I'd really prefer not to talk about it right now. I've spent ten years trying to forget him." She said and turned to look at him and put her hand on his cheek, giving him a smile. "And with you, I was able to."

That nagging feeling returned. That amount of time… it was how long he was famous for.

"Well I'm glad I could be of service to you." Dirk said and grinned.

"When you say it like that, you make it seem like this was a one night stand." Yoko said.

"Do you want it to be?" Dirk asked, though he knew that he most definitely didn't want it to be.

Yoko blushed a bit and shook her head. "No. I hope to see you again."

"Well where do you live?"

"Here. In Houston." She said. "About two miles from here so I figured I'd book a hotel room for the con."

"Well, I'll be here for a while, so how about after today, we go on a date?"

Yoko smiled at him. "I'd like that."

Dirk chuckled. "Lucky you, you'll be able to see my natural hair color. Just promise not to swoon when you realize who I am." He chuckled.

"And why would I do that?"

"Not to brag or anything, but back in Hollywood, I'm kind of a big deal. I'll tell you about it sometime." He said and grabbed her wrist lightly, kissing her palm.

Yoko laughed a bit and rolled her eyes. "Whatever you say, Kamina." She said. Standing up, she gathered up her costume and started to get dressed in it again. "Give me your phone." She said as she was brushing her hair.

Dirk sat up and reached for his pants, pulling his phone out of his pocket. "What for?"

"We promised to exchange numbers two days ago, didn't we?"

"Right, right." He said and handed it over. Yoko paused doing her hair to put her number in his cell. "My turn."

Yoko nodded and tossed him hers. Opening her contact list, Dirk typed in his number, his personal line, and put in the name Kamina. Handing her phone back he stood and started to get dressed as well.

"So, what is on the itinerary for the rest of the day?" Yoko asked.

"Whatever you want, hun." He said and placed the shades on his eyes.


	5. Chapter 5

That night, Dirk walked into his brother's apartment and plopped down on one of the kitchen stools with a very contented sigh. D, who was making dinner turned and looked at him.

"Well that certainly sounded like someone is happy." D said.

"I am. I met the most wonderful girl at the convention." Dirk said.

D raised an eyebrow. "What happened to _____?"

"I've decided that you were right. I don't deserve her."

D nearly dropped the utensils he was using to cook, his aviators falling down his nose a bit to reveal red irises. "What?"

"You were right."

"That's bullshit." D said. "I mean, of course I was right. But that excuse is bullshit."

"What the fuck do you mean?"

"Are you serious right now, Dirk? You really slept with someone there?" D said. "Did you think a slut at a convention is worth your time? If you think you've fallen for whatever cosplayer was there, then you probably fell right into her trap."

"I think you're crazy, D." Dirk said and rolled his eyes. "She wasn't some slut."

"She was a Yoko cosplayer, wasn’t she?" D asked.

Dirk blushed and nodded, looking to the side.

"I rest my case." D said. "Listen, you came here to make up with _____, and while I don't approve of your motives, I had at least some respect for you to try to atone for your sins." He shook his head. "Right now, I don't even know who you are any more."

"Shut the fuck up, D. You have no idea what you're talking about."

"I know that you haven't been the same since you gained fame and fortune." D said.

"What about you, huh? You're just as famous as me, if not more!"

"Be that as it may, at least I didn't break my best friend's heart to get what I wanted. At least I know where my heart is. At least I know who I am!"

Dirk stood up and rolled his eyes. "Yeah, a nice guy to everyone but your family!" He said and then stormed into the bathroom.

D sighed and watched as he walked off, shaking his head. "Where did I go wrong with that one?" He asked himself.

*     *     *

"And then he goes on to tell me that I'm a huge dick!" Dirk said into his phone, sitting on the hood of his car.

There was no response on the other line.

"Jake?"

"I'm here."

"Then say something."

"Honestly, Dirk, I don't know what to say."

"Then say what you feel about all of this? Pissed right?"

"Yeah, pissed and very disappointed."

"Disappointed? At D? He's always been like this."

"Not at D, Dirk. At you."

Dirk nearly dropped his phone. "What?"

"D was right, you know. The first five years of your fame changed you a lot. Roxy, Jane and I put up with that because we're your best friends. The past five years you started changing again. Depressed, mopey, unhappy. We wanted to do something for you, but you pushed us off, but we accepted that you prefer to deal with your problems on your own." Jake sighed a bit. "We all knew what you were missing but we didn’t dare say it. When you said that you decided to make up with _____ we were overjoyed, ecstatic. But now you're telling me that you're going to forget her and go steady with a chick you met at a convention and promptly had sex with? I can't help but feel disappointed."

"Yeah, well who asked you?" Dirk said, irrationality taking over at his best friend turning on him like everyone else.

"YOU DID, STRIDER!" Jake shouted and Dirk could tell he's finally done it.

He pushed too far again.

"You asked me what I thought. I told you. Now it's up to you to decide what to do about it. Good luck with whomever you pick and I wish you luck. Bye."

"Wait, Jake. I'm sor—"

The line clicked and the call ended. Dirk sighed and raised his phone up like he was about to throw it, but stopped. All he's ever done is fuck up and screw over his friends without meaning to. Letting out a sigh, he scrolled through his numbers until he landed on the one labeled "Yoko." Pressing the send button, he brought the phone to his ear.

"Hello? Kamina?"

"Hey, Yoko."

"What's up? Something happen? We only just saw each other like five hours ago."

"Yeah, everything's fine. I just… I need to talk to you. Meet me at the park?" He asked.

"Yeah, sure. Just give me ten minutes. I just need to finish up making my hair go back to normal."

"No problem. See you there."

"See ya."


	6. Chapter 6

Dirk walked around the park, passed the swings and stopped at one of the rocks that circled the playground area. He ran his hand over the rough surface as he walked around it. Letting out a sigh, he sat down on it, with his back to the swings. He was so lost in thought; he didn't hear someone walk near him until they called out.

"Kamina?"

Dirk froze. "Yeah." He said and stood up, running his hand through his hair.

"You're blonde, huh?"

He nodded, but didn't turn around.

"So what do you want to talk about?"

"Look, Yoko…" he said and turned around, freezing immediately.

Yoko in front of him froze as well, staring at him. Only, it wasn't Yoko. It was _____. Her hair was no longer red and she cut it again to look like normal. She was wearing the metal hairpin he made for her fifteen years ago in her hair. She had a tank top on and as simple pair of jeans and the only thought that came to Dirks mind was that she looked beautiful.

"_____." He breathed.

"Dirk. What are you doing here?" She asked when she finally regained her composure. "Where's Ka— the guy I was supposed to meet with."

"I'm him." He said.

"No. You can't be. I would have been able to tell if it was you."

"I can prove it." He said and took a step closer to her. When she stepped back he sighed. Moving his hands to the back of his shirt, he pulled it up and over his head, revealing the tattoos. "See. I'm him."

"But— no. This can't be true." She said and stepped back some more.

Dirk reached out for her. "_____, listen to me, please." He pleaded, taking off his shades to look at him.

_____ glared at him. "And explain what? That you knew it was me the whole time and decided to sleep with me without telling me who you were? Or that you honestly had no idea that it was me and were going to throw me out like all those other girls you've slept with since high school?"

"Both? Neither?" He said and stepped closer to her. "Listen. I was going to tell Yoko that there was someone more important to me that I needed to talk to, that I needed to forgive me, that there was someone I loved and needed to tell. I swear I didn't know it was you, but…" he let out a sigh. "I guess I did. Some part of me recognized you."

_____ glared even harder. "Do you think that telling me you love me is going to fix anything?" She said.

"Yes?" Dirk asked before he saw her expression. "No? No."

"Which is it?"

"No." Dirk sighed and dropped his hand. "Just… _____, can you… help me understand what I did wrong? What I did to you that made you hate me so much?"

"You're honestly asking me this, Dirk? Are you fucking serious right now?"

Dirk nodded.

"Fine. Just this once, I will put it into words. If you don't understand, then I have nothing more to say to you."

"Fine."

_____ took a deep breath. "Twenty-three years ago, we became friends as just Dirk Strider and _____ ________. You were my older brother, my best friend, we did everything together. Then Gurren Lagann came out and we started watching it. Good show, plot, everything about it was good, except one thing." She said. "You changed. You stopped being Dirk Strider and became Kamina, forcing the role of Yoko on me. The first time you called me Yoko, I thought that it was just going to be a game. A week later and you were still calling me it and that was the second that I realized how much I hated the show."

"Why? You just said that it was great."

"That’s the thing, Dirk. The show was good. What I hated about it was that it took you away from me." She said and jabbed a finger at his bare chest. "I loved you more than anyone, even at eight years old, though then I thought it was the love of a sibling. On your fourteenth birthday when you called me my name again and held me after I gave you those shades, I realized what that love really was. But when your other friends came over, I was Yoko again and I was her until the end of high school. Then you left. You left and took me with you, leaving me here, soulless and without a personality to call my own. Do you want to know the worst part of that is?"

When Dirk said nothing, _____ continued.

"The worst part of it was that I still loved you. I kept telling myself that I hated you, that you weren't worth my time, that you were a worthless piece of shit. But I still loved you more than anything else."

"Jake had said that you loved me enough to give up yourself." Dirk murmured in a small voice. He reached up to put a hand on her cheek, but she backed away.

"He was right. I never gained a sense of self being your friend. When I explained this to a therapist I started going to in college, he said that I was in a very abusive relationship and the fact that I still loved you only proved it more at that point."

"Abusive? But we weren't even dating and I never laid a hand on you." Dirk said. "How was that abusive?"

"I asked the same question. My therapist said that abusive relationships are also mental as well as physical and the fact that we were as close as we were only made it worse. Abusive relationships aren't just romantic." She said. "That's beside the point. While all of this was going on and I was attending college, there were times when I wished nothing more than to call you or talk to you or just see you in person again and an overwhelming sense of loneliness washed over me and I would just cry myself to sleep. It got to the point where I would take anything that reminded me of you, so I became friends with your brother."

"D? You became friends with D?"

_____ nodded. "Close actually. Close to the point where I actually thought about dating him." She said. "I almost asked him out once, but I realized that he would just be, essentially, a rebound from you."

"But he's… ten years older than us."

"So? my parents were eight years apart. Age meant nothing." She ran her hand through her hair. "At some point, about six years ago, I realized the pain of you tossing me out like trash started to dull on its own and I finally, finally, started getting over you for real. I was finally able to watch and appreciate Gurren Lagann without the memories of you making me stop half way through the first episode. I was able to hang out with D and go get coffee and at one point we actually started dating for about three months, before we both realized that it was a little weird, breaking it off on good terms."

"You actually dated my brother?" He asked and he couldn't mask the disgust in his voice. _That son of a bitch. I'm going to kill him._

"Yes, and we were very happy during those three months. But I'm not going to go into all the details. The point is, I was finally over you. I finally figured out who I was. I was _____ _______ the novelist. I got a career without you. I got a life without you. I gained a personality without you. I am so much better off without you. I'm content living without you for the rest of my life, like Yoko was when Kamina and Kittan died and she lived the rest of her life as a teacher."

"But she wasn’t happy." Dirk said. "You're not happy."

"No. I'm not happy. But I'm content. I will gladly live as I am for the rest of my life before I let you back in." She said, turning around and starting to walk away.

"I'm not ok with that." Dirk murmured before flash-stepping in front of her, wrapping his arms around her when she bumped into him. "I'm not ok with that." He repeated a bit louder so she could hear her.

_____ glared and tried to push herself out of his arms, only for him to hold onto her tighter. "You don't have to be ok with anything I ever do any more, Dirk. This is my choice. I don't want you around anymore. I don’t want a repeat of the last twenty years."

"It doesn't have to be a repeat." He said and put a hand under her chin. "I'll do everything in my power to make up for what I did to you."

Without waiting for a response from her, he pressed his lips against her in a heated kiss. He could feel her kissing him back despite herself, but when she realized what was happening, she shoved him away. She glared hard at him.

"Leave me alone. That’s how you can make it up to me. Go away and never walk into my life again and consider us even." She said and then walked off.

Dirk watched her go before putting his shades over her eyes. "I can't do that." He said to no one.

Sighing he put his hands in his pockets and walked to his car. Before he goes to talk to her again, he needed to give his brother a piece of his mind. Putting the key in the ignition, he tried not to dwell on how she looked when she was walking away. He had to deal with D first.

But the image of her crying as she walked away invaded his vision anyway.


	7. Chapter 7

_____ bounded up the stairs of the apartment building before banging loudly on the door. She knew he wasn't going to be there since she just left him and she really needed to talk to someone. Wiping her eyes with her other hand, she felt the door open while the side of her fist was on it. Looking up, she saw D standing in the doorway, looking down at her with a very concerned expression. The second he saw her, he opened his arms up. Accepting the invitation, _____ closed the distance between them and held onto D tightly.

Smoothing out her hair, he spoke. "What happened, sweetheart?"

_____ launched into her tale about the convention and what happened there and then what had happened earlier at the park. As she spoke, D had picked her up bridal style and carried her into his room, sitting down on the bed with her in his lap. When _____ had gotten to the point about her being the Yoko that Dirk had slept with at the convention, his whole body went rigid, mostly because he had called that Yoko a slut without realizing that it was her.

By the time she had gotten to what happened at the park, _____ had calmed down a significant amount, enough to leave her exhausted. Crying and dealing with drama during Post-Con Depression really did take its toll on her. When she finished with her story, D rubbed her back softly and started humming the tune of a lullaby.

"Everything will be ok." He said, his voice soft. "Things will work out for the best, you'll see."

She nodded tiredly and rubbed his eyes. "Dave… what if he comes back and sees me here?"

D kissed her forehead softly, familiarly. "I promise he won't do anything. I'll stop him before anything happens."

"Ok."

"Now just go to sleep, _____." He told her. "I'll be here when you wake up in the morning."

She nodded once more and listened as D started humming the lullaby, slowly drifting off into a dreamless sleep. When D decided that she was in a deep enough sleep, he shifted around so he could lay her in bed, pulling the covers over her. Running a hand through his hair, he walked out of his room just as he heard the front door slam. Dirk was home and he was barely prepared for the rage he would have to face.

D walked away from his room and towards the kitchen so that _____ wouldn't be woken up by any shouting that might happen. Making it seem like he was cooking something, D was alerted to his younger brother's presence when he spoke.

"You know, D, you really are a piece of work." Dirk said.

_Play dumb. He doesn't know that you know what he's talking about._ "What are you going on about now, Dirk?" D asked, his back to the island that Dirk was standing over.

"Don't pretend like you don’t know." He said. "_____. While I was gone, you started dating her!"

D whirled on his brother, his shades off his eyes and on the counter, red irises shooting poison at his brother. He could see a flash of fear in Dirk's eyes. He knew that when D lost his shades, he was either deadly serious or about to kill someone. Usually both.

"Yeah. What of it, little brother? You never claimed her." He said. "You left her for me to pick up the pieces, to make her better the best I could. So what if I developed feelings for her. It's not like you were here to stop me."

Dirk glared back. "You knew what I planned to do when I left. You knew I wanted to take her with me. You're my brother! I thought you would have had the decency not to go after my girl!"

"She's not your girl, Dirk. She never was your girl. She never will be your girl. She straight up told you that earlier at the park!"

Dirk blinked. "How do you know that? Did she come over? Where is she?"

_Fuck, fuck, fuckity, fuck, fuck, fuck._ "She left about ten minutes ago."

The younger Strider narrowed his eyes at his brother, trying to search for the lie that would be shown in the older Strider's eyes.

"Forget it." Dirk muttered. "Her being here or not is beside the point. You shouldn't have started dating her, knowing what you did about how I felt about her!"

"Oh, yeah, right. You loved her. You only loved her because you thought she was Yoko and you were Kamina. You only wanted to fulfill your fantasy that wasn’t lived out in the stupid show." D said. "And it didn’t sound like you loved her before when you were talking about that Yoko earlier."

"She ended up being that Yoko."

"Ah, but you didn’t know that then!" D said. "You were going to forget about her and start going out with that Yoko if you hadn't realized who she was. Though, I am curious, you were going to dump her at the park, weren't you? Who made you change your mind?"

"Jake."

D laughed. "That's rich. That kid has always been the Jiminy Cricket to your Pinocchio. I take back what I said about your moral compass being eschew when you were first starting out. I was completely off the mark. You have no moral compass. You've relied on Jake to tell you what to do this while time."

Dirk growled and D smirked when he found that he rendered his brother speechless.

"You never once thought about the consequences of your actions and it's finally catching up to you." D said. "Karma really is a bitch. Make yourself comfortable, bro. You'll be with her for quite a while."

Watching Dirk gape like a fish brought more satisfaction for D then it probably should have. Instead of waiting for him to think of some lame as hell response, he left the kitchen and walked back to his room, seeing _____ still asleep. Letting out a sigh of relief that he didn’t wake her, he locked his door before changing into broken record lounge pants and crawling into bed next to her.

Before he fell asleep, he could hear footsteps walk to his door and try to open it. Smirking when Dirk gave up, he let himself fall asleep.

*     *     *

After feeling that D's door was locked, Dirk retreated into his room and sighed. Pulling out his phone, he dialed Jake's number.

"Hello. I can't get to the phone right now. I'm probably out on a roaring adventure and can't reach it right now. Please leave a message at the beep and I'll get back to you as soon as possible. Cheers."

Dirk let out a sigh. As expected, Jake didn't pick up. Running his hand through his hair, he spoke.

"Hey, Jake. I know you probably don't want to talk to me or hear my voice right now or what have you. I just… I need to apologize for what I said earlier. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have lashed out like that. I also wanted to tell you that I was going to tell that Yoko from the convention that there was someone else that I needed more, someone that I had cared for since I was young, but hurt her and needed to fix everything. I called her to meet me at the park and when she got there it was her. _____ was the Yoko. I just thought you'd like to know. But it doesn't matter anymore. I've given up. Tomorrow I'm going back to Hollywood. I've caused enough trouble for everyone."

Pausing for a moment. He let out a sigh.

"I'll see ya around. If you're ever out west again, look me up."

Taking the phone away from his ear, he pressed the button to end the call before crawling into bed. Tomorrow he would look up flights and take the first one back home. Everyone was against him and right now, even the impossible was impossible.


	8. Chapter 8

The next morning, D woke before _____ did and carefully got out of bed without waking her. Walking to his door, he unlocked it and walked into the kitchen to make some breakfast before she woke.

Running his hands through his hair, he pulled out a box of Eggo waffles from the freezer and popped a few in the toaster. As he was waiting for them to cook, he heard footsteps pad up to the island. It wasn't _____ because he would have been able to sense her, or at least hear her before she even entered the kitchen.

"What are you doing here, Dirk?" He asked.

"You never officially kicked me out." Dirk said. "Which I'm surprised you haven't done yet."

"Regardless of how much I hate you right now, you're still my baby brother and I'm not about to kick you out." D said and picked the waffles out of the toaster before putting two more in.

Dirk let out a sigh and D could hear him run a hand through his hair. "Did you… ya know sleep with her? When you were together I mean."

"No. I didn't. Never felt like the right time." D said and shrugged.

Dirk was silent for a moment before he stepped off the stool. "Look, man. I'm sorry about last night. I acted out of anger and hurt and I shouldn't have done that." He said. "I'm going back to Hollyweird today. I've caused enough trouble for one weekend."

D frowned. Now he felt guilty. Was this part of his plan or something? Deciding to say nothing, he grabbed the last two waffles and put them on the plate. Picking up his shades that he left on the counter last night, he put them on before turning. Something felt strange. Dirk was still here. Yawning he turned to the door that exited the kitchen and froze.

_____ was standing in it, looking freaked out, her hair splayed out over her face. D mentally cursed. She wasn't supposed to be awake yet. Looking out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Dirk standing there with his mouth slightly open. It was barely a split second before he regained his composure and glared hard at D.

"D, follow me." He said in a low voice.

D rolled his eyes and left the waffles on the counter. Taking off his shades, he followed as Dirk walked towards _____ and passed her. Pausing a moment, Dave put his shades over her eyes and looked down and gave her a small smile.

"I'll be right back. Help yourself to the waffles."

"Ok." She nodded and held herself as she walked to the counter.

D watched her sit down before he turned out of the kitchen and walked down to the hall. He didn’t get very far before there was an arm on his neck pushing him hard against the wall. D cursed when the world started spinning.

"What is she doing here?" Dirk hissed, glaring hard up at D.

"Whatever do you mean? She came back earlier this morning."

"Shut the fuck up, D and stop lying. She's wearing the same thing she wore last night."

"All right, fine. You want the truth? She came to me crying because of you last night. I was here to comfort her and make her get the sleep she needed." D said. "Got a problem with it?"

"Yeah, I've got a fucking problem with it! I needed to talk to her. If I knew she was here, then I would have done it last night!"

"No, you wouldn't have. I wouldn't have let you."

"Well why not? Because you don't think I should be happy? Or is it because you still have feelings for her?"

"Neither, Dirk. She was asleep!" D's voice rose. "And I promised I wouldn't let you near her last night. Popular to contrary belief, bro, I do think you should be happy, but only after you become my brother again and whoever you are now, but you sure as hell aren't Dirk Strider. Not the one I raised."

"Let him go." Came a small voice from the other end of the hall.

Dirk and D's head turned to see _____ standing in the hallway with D's shades still on and her arms crossed. Either from pure shock of _____ telling him what to do or not wanting to get her upset, Dirk released D from the wall and crossed his arms over his chest, looking to the side. D rubbed his neck and looked at _____.

"Do you want to talk to him?" D asked.

_____ sighed. "It seems like the only way to get him to cool his temper, yes." She said.

D sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Want to keep the shades for now?" When she nodded, D sighed and walked up to her, putting a hand on the top of her head. "I'll be in the kitchen if anything happens."

"Ok."

Dirk and _____ watched as D left the hallway, leaving the feuding pair alone. _____ looked at Dirk with her arms crossed and took a deep breath.

"All right, now it's your turn to explain yourself before you leave me alone." She said.

Dirk let out a sigh and ran a hand through his hair. "I don't even know where to start."

"How about from the beginning."

"The beginning? Fine." Dirk looked to the side. "You were my best friend, the only person I felt comfortable around, comfortable enough to be myself. I loved anime, still do. I like mechanics and engineering and music. Most of all, I liked you. Even at five and six years old, I knew I never wanted to leave your side. Then Gurren Lagann came out and Kamina and Yoko were practically a thing since it started. I thought, _oh look, a perfect way to tell her how I feel without telling her!_ At least, that’s what realized I thought when I was fourteen. I called you Yoko because I felt like Kamina and I thought that they were meant to be, just like us."

He paused and looked at _____, trying to gauge her reaction. Curse those shades, he couldn't see her eyes. Frowning, he continued.

"High school started, and I spent all of those years with Jake obsessing on how I could ask you out, how I could make you mine for real. Then I got the call from the record company and I finally got it. They asked me to fly out a week from the call to record a demo because they loved what they heard on YouTube. I was going to tell you what happened and then ask you to come with me. But that never happened. You freaked out and ran off."

"If you wanted me to come with you, why didn't you run after me?"

"I was too angry and hurt to think clearly. I couldn't think where you could have possibly been. I realized yesterday that regardless of how much you've changed, there are still some things we share."

"Oh yeah? What's that?"

"That park I called you too last night. It's important to both of us." Dirk said and took a step toward her. "I went there last night because its special. And I'll bet a million bucks that you ran there that day too." When _____ didn't say anything, he continued. You don't believe any of this, do you?"

She shook her head. "I don't have a reason to."            

Dirk sighed and then pulled out his phone. "Fine, then talk to Jake. He knows everything and to be perfectly honest, he has no reason to lie about me. I pissed him off too pretty badly too." Dirk scrolled through the numbers and pressed Jakes before walking up and pushing the phone to _____'s ear.

She reached up and took it from her ear, ready to deny everything. She turned her back to Dirk and walked a little ways away from him as the phone rang. When she thought he wasn't going to answer, the line clicked.

"What do you want Dirk? I really don't have the patience to deal with you right now." Came the British accented voice of Jake English.

"Jake. It's not Dirk. It's me, _____."  She said.

"H-huh? _____?"  He asked. "What are you doing using Dirk's phone? Did you forgive him?"

"Hardly. He wanted me to talk to you to confirm his plans for high school that apparently went horribly wrong."

"What plans?"

"That he spent most of his time with you obsessing over how to ask me out and then how he was going to ask me to go with him to Hollywood."

"Oh right. That."  Jake said and sighed. "As much as I could like to lie about it for your sake, I don’t make a habit of telling people falsities. He really did want you to go to Hollywood with him, start a life with him. When you ran away, he called me, all broken up about it from the plane. The past ten years without you it was easy to tell he regretted what he did, but he just couldn’t build up the courage to go and face you. He didn't want to confirm what he knew was true."

"What was that?"

"That you hated him and never wanted to see him again."

"But it wasn't true." _____ said in a small voice. "When he left the first five years were hell, therapy, trying to get over him when the only thing I wanted was for him to come back to me. Even now I don't… I don't hate him."

"Then what do you feel about him?"

"I don’t know. I've tried to convince myself that I do, but just as I was able to move on, he comes back into my life and makes me confused. I honestly don't know, Jake."

"You don't have to figure it out right away, _____. But let me just say one thing on Dirk's behalf, even if I am still upset with him." Jake sighed. "Ever since he left he's never once stopped thinking about you. He still wears those shades because you gave them to him. He hasn’t changed his hairstyle because you thought he looked best like that. He still has the picture the two of you took when you entered high school together standing on his nightstand. As much as I want to kick his ass for what he's done to me, I'm still his friend and I want him to have his second chance at happiness."

"Huh? What did he do to you?"

"Nothing important." Jake said. "Maybe I'll tell you about it sometime. It's not the point of what I'm talking to you about right now. Just if after what I said about him today still makes you want to kick him out of your life, then I don't blame you, but if there is even the slightest bit of doubt about it, then give him a chance, you don't have to date him, just try to be his friend again first. Get to know each other again and if you don't like what he's become, then you can tell him to get lost and I will personally help you keep him away from you."

_____ sighed. "You really are too good a person to him, Jake."

"I know, but he's my bro. Regardless of how much I want to kick him in the jewels, I've got his back."

"Thanks Jake. I'll steal your number later and give you a call some time. Then you can tell me what he did to you."

"I look forward to it." He said. "Cheers."

"Later." _____ said before she hung up the phone. Letting out a sigh, she turned back to Dirk who was standing there awkwardly, she held the phone out. "All right. Based on the words that Jake said about you, I'm giving you one week."

"A week to do what?"

"A week to prove to me that you are different and that what you said about me is true. If I still want you to leave me alone by next Monday, then Jake and I fully expect you to get lost. Understand?"

"Understood."  Dirk said and he couldn't stop the smile that creeped its way onto his face. He made a move to go up to ____ and hug her, but she stepped back.

"Not so fast, Dirk. Put some clothes on. I'm going home." She said and turned on her heel and headed into the kitchen to say goodbye to D.


End file.
